SENIORS
by GEM1588
Summary: AU. Present Day. Full Cast. A story about the graduating class of Bellarke High School. It all started when Jasper Jordan took his crush on Octavia Blake to the extreme - by trying out for the cheerleading squad. Rating is for language.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Are you sure about this?" Monty asked Jasper as the pair stood by the entrance to the gymnasium. "I mean, I know you'd do just about _anything_ to get on her radar – but don't you think this is overkill?"

"Monty. Monty. Monty," Jasper replied, casually throwing an arm over his friend's shoulder. "I'm not doing this for _me,_ I'm doing this for _us."_

"Yeah. Sure you are."

"Look in there and tell me what you see," Jasper used his free hand to grip the crown of his friend's head physically turning his attention into the gymnasium.

Monty sighed, "The hottest girls in the school."

"Exactly," Jasper let go of Monty and clapped his hands together. "So let's go," he grinned as he took a step forward. "Don't want to be late."

As Jasper walked through the doorway, past the large sign that read "TRYOUTS TODAY", Monty hung his head. "I should walk away right now," he said to himself. He glanced up slightly as Jasper passed by a pair of girls wearing very, very tiny gym shorts. "Don't be that guy," he muttered under his breath. "No one likes a pervert."

Jasper was standing in line at the check-in table when he realized that Monty wasn't behind him. "Monty!" he shouted loudly, waving his arm – attracting everyone's attention including his best friend. "You have to fill out a form to try out!"

_Tell me he didn't just do that._ Monty froze in place, eyes darting wildly catching the stares of every girl in sight looking directly at him.

"COME ON!" Jasper was waving both arms now.

"I hate him," Monty grumbled to himself as he went inside staring only at the floor.

"OMG! Is he seriously trying out?" someone loud-whispered as he walked to the table. The coach was seated there and she held out sheets of paper. As the boys reached out, she snatched the forms back toward her and out of their reach.

"You're not wasting my time," she growled. "Are you?"

"No Coach," Jasper managed but with a slight quiver in his voice. All Monty could do was shake his head 'no'.

"Stand in the front line and pay attention," she sneered as she practically threw two pens their way. Giving them one last evil eye, she got up from her seat and yelled at everyone to get in line.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Monty whispered to Jasper. "That woman is terrifying. I heard last year she made them run until they puked. I can't do that man. I can't."

"We'll be fine," Jasper countered. "As long as we do exactly what she says."

They left their forms on the table and took their place at the far side of the front line. The Coach stood in front facing them. "Welcome to tryouts," she greeted everyone, managing her best smile – which reminded Monty of a tiger snarling. "I don't expect you to do your best or try your hardest. I expect perfection." She paced along the floor, staring everyone down. "We'll start with three minutes of jumping jacks. You begin on the whistle and end on the whistle. Ready?"

"OK," the group shouted in perfect unison – except for Jasper and Monty, who answered a second later than everyone else, causing the Coach to glare their way.

Then the whistle blew.

Jasper and Monty launched into jumping jacks. They thought they were doing well, until the Coach came over and stood in front of them. "What the hell are you doing?"

Jasper stopped letting his arms flop to his sides, "Jumping…." He didn't get a chance to finish because the Coach was already screaming in his face, "DID I TELL YOU TO STOP!"

Monty was silently thankful that he kept going as Jasper was now the focus of the Coach. "What is this?" she flopped her arms over her head mimicking Jasper. "HIT-YOUR-MOTIONS!" she ordered as she proceeded to show them the way _she_ wanted it done.

Which was quite awkward.

Jasper and Monty had no idea three minutes could be so long. When the end whistle blew, Monty leaned over with his hands on his knees. "Holy Crap," he panted to Jasper.

Jasper was in worse shape, doubled over holding his side. "I think I pulled something," he winced in pain.

Next they got down on the floor with both legs in front of them and stretched. Well, if being able to touch your shins was stretching, than Jasper earned an A+. Monty could barely reach his knees.

Monty caught Japer looking over his shoulder at _her_. She was folded in half with her hands well past her feet. It was impressive.

They spent several minutes doing variations of that stretch.

The doors to the gym banged open and in walked an incredibly cute blonde that neither boy had ever seen before. The room went silent as the girl walked over toward them. "Are you Coach Anya?" she spoke to the woman in charge with confidence.

"Yes," the Coach replied back.

"I'm Clarke Griffin," the girl extended her hand. "I just transferred from…."

Coach Anya looked down at her hand then up again but made no move to reciprocate. "You're late," the Coach rudely interrupted the girl.

Jasper and Monty watched as Clarke Griffin looked at the wristwatch she wore then up at the clock on the wall. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "My watch was running slow."

"No jewelry at practice," Coach Anya stated folding her arms over her chest.

"Oh, right." Clarke fumbled with the wristband and removed the watch. As she put it into one of the many zippered compartments of her backpack, Coach Anya instructed her to run twenty five laps around the gym – the standard punishment for tardiness.

"Dude," Monty whispered to Jasper. "Let's get the hell out of here." But his friend wasn't listening. Instead he was watching the one and only Octavia Blake, lying on her belly on the gym floor with her legs spread in a perfect straddle.

_Yeah_. Monty thought as he caught himself staring at Harper who had pulled a leg up against the side of her head. _Maybe we should stick around a little longer._

…

"OCTAVIA! ARE YOU HOME YET?" Bellamy yelled as he dropped his shoulder pads and helmet on the floor next to him. He kicked off his muddy cleats and walked through the kitchen in his filthy socks, noticing that there was a pot of something boiling over on the stove. He continued into the front of the house where he heard music blaring from the top of the stairs. "OCTAVIA!"

"Heeeyyy Bellamy!" Harper leaned over the railing.

Monroe stuck her head over as well, "How was practice?"

"Tell my sister she's burning dinner," he told the girls as he climbed the steps heading for his bedroom. Giggling, they both blew him kisses before dashing back to Octavia's room and slamming the door shut behind them.

Once inside his room, he closed and locked the door behind him. Flopping on his mattress and staring at the ceiling he listened to the pounding pop music coming from the room next to his. Eventually the music stopped. Awhile later there was a knock on the door.

"Food's ready," Octavia announced.

It was about time. Bellamy met up with his sister in the kitchen. There was a plate of food waiting for him.

"Mom's working a double," Octavia told her brother as he devoured his meal. Then trying to make small talk she added, "There was a new girl at try-outs today. Clarke-something."

"Yeah," Bellamy looked up for a second. "Is she hot?"

"If you like girls who wear wrist watches as their fashion statement," Octavia wrinkled her nose in disapproval. "Anyway, she showed up late and Coach Anya totally freaked. Made her run until she almost passed out."

"Sucks to be her."

"Definitely," Octavia laughed. "Oh and then Jasper Jordan and Monty Green tried out for the squad. I can't believe Coach Anya even let them in the gym."

"I'm pretty sure Anya thinks they're gay."

"They're not gay."

"Yeah, and neither are all those dudes who call themselves Bronys."

"Don't hate Bell."

…

The message on the screen read: _How were tryouts?_

_It was okay. _Clarke texted her mother as she walked to the parking lot. She glanced up looking for her father's car but he hadn't arrived yet. She looked down at her phone and continued to type. _Coach Anya is a bitch._ Then she erased 'a bitch' and typed _mean_ instead before hitting send.

"Hey, I think you dropped something," a voice called in the distance.

Clarke turned in the direction of the voice to see a boy with thick, shaggy black hair with something in his hand. He held it up so she could see it more clearly. Yes, the object in question was hers. She reversed direction as he moved to catch up to her.

"Thanks," she smiled at him reaching to take her cheer shorts from his hand. Swinging her backpack off her shoulder she noticed that her zipper wasn't closed all the way.

He eyed her bag. "Are you are a princess or something… _Clarke._" He asked reading the name embroidered across the front.

"A princess," Clarke almost laughed. "No. Not even close."

"Then what's with the tiara?" He inquired, referring to the jeweled embellishment on the back of her shorts.

"Royals," Clark explained. "It was the mascot at my old school."

He nodded, clearly amused. "So you _were _a princess…"

"Well, now I'm a Pirate," Clarke countered.

"You mean wench," the boy corrected her.

"Pirate," she repeated turning away from him as her father's car approached.

"I'm Finn," he called not moving from his spot.

"Nice to meet you," Clarke gave him a polite wave as she reached for the door handle. Opening the door and tossing her bag inside, she noticed her father looking over at Finn.

"New friend?" he asked.

"Just a good Samaritain," Clarke explained as she caught one last glimpse of Finn in the side view mirror. Her phone buzzed with a reply from her mother: _When will you know if you made the team?_

_Tomorrow._

* * *

><p><strong><em>It's been ages since I've written anything AU but this story has been inside my head and WILL NOT GO AWAY so I hope you enjoy. Please review or message me as I sincerely value your feedback. -Gemma<em>**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Why are we even looking for the roster?" Monty asked as Jasper clicked the link to their school website. "We already know who made the team. It's the same girls every year. Octavia, Harper, Monroe…"

"I just want to see if that Clarke girl made it," Jasper waited for the site to load.

Monty frowned. "I'm pretty sure she didn't. You saw the way Coach Anya treated her."

"Yeah, but I also saw that crazy flip thing she did." Jasper started scrolling. "Here it is." He began reading a list of names then stopped. "Ohhhhhhh," he sucked in a breath.

"What?" Monty looked over Jasper's shoulder. "Did Clarke make it?"

"No," Jasper gasped. "But _we _did."

"WHAT!" Monty grabbed the phone from Jasper. There was his name listed at the final spot. Jasper's name was just above his. "Oh no," Monty panicked. "What if my parents see this? How am I supposed to explain….?" He punched Jasper in the shoulder. "This is all YOUR fault!"

Jasper was laughing.

"This isn't funny," he punched Jasper again.

"Uh – OW!" Jasper stopped laughing and rubbed his bicep. "And no it's not funny – it's AWESOME!"

"How can you SAY that?" Monty exclaimed.

"We get to go to practice and hang out with all the girls – like every day! And then the bus rides to the away games and…"

"…And everyone at school will make fun of us."

"Like they don't already."

"Yeah but this is different."

"How?"

"It just IS!"

Jasper took control of his phone again, "Practice starts next week. Wear practice uniform and bring water." He turned to Monty, "What's a practice uniform?" He couldn't help noticing that Monty was clawing at his face.

"Did you really just ask me that?"

…

Charlotte Griffin sat on the bed beside her big sister, Clarke, "When are you going to check the website?"

"When you leave," the elder blonde replied.

"Come on. Come on," Charlotte begged. "Check it now. Please!"

"No."

"Please!"

"No. Now get out of my room!"

"Fine," Charlotte flounced off the bed. "I hope you _didn't_ make it," she yelled as she slammed the door shut.

In the distance Clarke heard her father reprimand Charlotte for the noise. She rolled over and looked at the half-unpacked boxes scattered across the floor. The one marked "Cheer Crap" stared back at her coldly. She got up from her bed, grabbed the box angrily and threw it in the very back of her oversize walk-in closet, willing herself not to cry.

The truth was she already checked the website.

Her name was not on the roster.

…

The four of them were in Bellamy's bedroom. He sat on the floor with his back against the bed. The three girls were lying on their stomachs looking over his shoulders.

"Harper move, I can't see," Monroe pushed her friend.

Octavia pushed back against them, "Now I can't see."

"Alright," Bellamy held the tablet in front of him. "It's loading now."

"I still can't see," Monroe slid off the bed and got down onto the floor. She wriggled under Bellamy's arm, until her head was resting against his chest.

"Yes!" Octavia cried as she saw her name at the top of the list.

Monroe and Harper also squealed with delight that they had made the team as well. They jumped around the room chanting:

**Everyone do the Pirate Rumble.  
>Everyone do the Pirate Rumble.<br>Pirate…..  
>Rumble…..<strong>

**Everyone do the Pirate Rumble.  
>Everyone do the Pirate Rumble.<br>Pirate…..  
>Rumble…..<strong>

Bellamy nearly fell over laughing when he got to the bottom of the roster. "Jasper Jordan and Monty Green," he read aloud.

"Very funny, Bell," Octavia paused to slap her brother as Harper and Monroe continued to "Pirate Rumble" while bouncing on his bed.

"I'm serious," Bellamy caught his sister in a head lock shoving the tablet in front of her face.

"NO WAY!" Octavia's fingers closed around the tablet. "Oh my God! Oh my God! Guys! Guys!" she broke free of her brother's hold and grabbed onto her friends. "LOOK at this!"

"Look at what?" Harper stared at the screen.

"THIS!" Octavia pointed to the final two names on the roster.

Monroe looked up at her teammates, "That's obviously a mistake."

"Coach Anya doesn't make mistakes," Harper stated.

"Oh my God," Monroe started shaking. "Do you know what this means?"

"We're CO-ED!"

"FINALLY!"

"THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST SEASON EVER!"

"Now if only the football team would win a few games…," Harper teased.

"Shut up," Bellamy snorted. "And get the hell out of my room."

"CO-ED!" Harper shouted clapping her hands. Octavia and Monroe joined in the chant:

CO-ED  
>(clap, clap)<br>CO-ED  
>(clap, clap)<br>CO-ED  
>(clap, clap)<br>CO-ED  
>(clap, clap)<p>

They kept it up all the way to Octavia's room where they began to Pirate Rumble again.

Bellamy shut his door leaning back into it with a thud. Their team did suck and last year their quarterback graduated. Granted, he wasn't that good but he was a whole lot better than Myles. The freshman may have been good as a middle school player but Bellamy knew there was no way the kid was ready for varsity ball.

This was his senior year and yeah, he'd like to win at least one game this season.

…

Coach Kane sat in his office with the rest of the varsity football staff.

"I can try to work with Myles," Sinclair offered. "But I think this is going to be another rebuilding season."

"Unacceptable," Kane said sharply. "We've have six years of rebuilding. This year we _need _to win."

"But Kane…,"

"We have an excellent core; Bellamy, Murphy, Miller, Atom and Dax," Kane countered. "We cannot throw away another season because we don't have a quarterback." He got up from his chair in disgust, "Finish up without me."

The rest of the staff remained silent watching Kane grab his bag and walk out of their meeting.

…

"Hey neighbor," A friendly voice called from the other side of the fence.

"Hey Finn," Raven nodded as she dragged the trashcan out to the curb. He followed her, tossing a football between his hands.

"Wanna play?" he asked.

"Sure," she smiled at him. He tossed the ball to her and ran out into the street. "Go long," Raven signaled Finn to move further down the block. She watched as his dark hair bounced as he jogged into the distance. Raven set the ball in place by her ear planting her foot she released it into the air. A perfect spiral flew through the air on its way to Finn.

But then an SUV turned the corner.

"CAR!" Raven screamed.

Finn checked over his shoulder and changed direction to get out of the way.

Unfortunately, the ball couldn't correct its course. It struck the windshield of the car dead center. There was a screech as the vehicle came to a stop. The door opened and the driver stepped out onto the road. He picked up the football and looked at Finn.

"DID YOU THROW THIS?" he asked accusingly.

"Uhhhhh, Yeah?" Finn looked at the driver than back at Raven.

"Shit," Raven muttered under her breath. She knew Finn wouldn't think twice about lying for her. But this guy was obviously pissed and she just couldn't let Finn take the fall this time.

"It wasn't him," Raven called as she ran up to them. "It was me."

"You threw this. From all the way back there?" the man looked at her as though she was joking.

"Yeah. You gotta problem with that?"

"Raven," Finn hissed, hoping she would take the hint that now was not the time for her attitude.

"_You_ threw this," the man stated again.

Raven's hands went to her hips and she nodded, glancing to Finn to let him know that she was _trying_ to be nice.

"Do it again." The driver tossed the ball back at her. "From back there. Near the fire hydrant."

Raven held the ball tightly in her hands as she jogged to the spot. Finn stood beside the driver, eyebrows raised suspiciously.

"Ready?" Raven called as her arm dropped back, launching the ball into the air.

Finn watched the perfect arc of the ball as it sailed over the wires that hung between the poles and right at the face of the driver. The man put his hands up and caught it. His eyes dropped down to the ball which had been aimed precisely and then back to the girl at the end of the street.

"Where does she go to high school?" the driver asked Finn.

"She doesn't," Finn replied.

"What do you mean she doesn't go to school?"

"Why are you asking so many questions?" Finn eyed up the driver.

Raven came jogging over to them with a smug I-told-you-so look on her face.

"You have a strong arm."

"I know."

The man let out a bit of an exasperated sigh at Raven's lack of humility.

"He says you're not in school," he shot a glance Finn's way.

"I dropped out. Not that it's your business," Raven snapped.

"How old are you?"

"Old enough to take of myself."

The driver tossed the ball back to her. "Have a nice day."

He got back into his car and drove away.

"Strange dude," Finn remarked.

"Yeah," Raven agreed.

They stood there for a minute until the car was out of sight.

"You hungry, Senorita? It's taco night at my house."

…

Coach Kane pulled around the corner and parked his car. He watched as the boy and girl went into the house.

"Call Sinclair," he told the car. His assistant picked up on the first ring.

"Can you send me the league's player eligibility rules?"

"All our boys are eligible."

"I understand, Sinclair. I need to know if there are any restrictions on gender."

"Gender?"

"Can we have a female player on the team?"

"Kane, what's going on?"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Thank you to everyone who placed this story on ALERT and a GIANT thank you to my first three reviewers. Now that you have an idea of where the story is going please let me know your thoughts. How do you feel about Clarke and Charlotte being sisters? Should Clarke coerce her way onto the cheerleading squad? Should Bellamy's team have a winning season? What about Jasper &amp; Monty? Do you think they have what it takes to be cheerleaders?<em>**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"What do you mean you didn't make the team?"

Clarke sat at the dinner table with her family. Three pairs of eyes started at her in disbelief. She shrugged half-heartedly, "My name wasn't on the roster."

"It must be a mistake. You've been cheering since you were five years old," her father looked at her mother for confirmation.

Abby looked at her husband then at her daughter, "Clarke, did something happen at try-outs?"

"I really don't want to talk about it."

"Honey," Jake Griffin put down his fork. "If there's something going on – you know can talk to us…"

"I know," Clarke rolled her eyes. "Nothing's going on. May I be excused?" Without waiting for an answer she pushed back her chair and left the table. Taking the stairs two at a time she went into her bedroom and shut the door.

The expected knock came moments later.

"Clarke, may I come in?" her father's soothing voice asked.

Clarke sat on her bed, shoulders slumping forward. "It's your house."

The door opened slowly. Softly he crept into the room shutting the door just as quietly. Wordlessly he sat beside her and placed an arm over her shoulders.

"Don't say that everything happens for a reason."

"I wasn't going to."

He squeezed her shoulders pulling her against him. Tears of disappointment that had been held prisoner behind Clarke's poker-faced façade now spilled down her cheeks.

She sobbed into her father's embrace.

…

The group of boys sat in the woods. Discarded empty beer cans littered the ground around them.

"I may as well quit now," Murphy remarked sucking down the remainder of his drink. "Myles can't throw for shit. And our running game is…"

"Hey," Atom interrupted. "Better watch your Goddam mouth, Murphy. You didn't catch a single pass last year…"

"Because he kept throwing to the _other_ team!" Murphy snorted.

"Both of you shut the hell up," Miller cracked open a fresh can. "We should give the kid a chance."

"You were at practice today, right?" Murphy threw a rock at his teammate. "The kid fumbled at least fifty snaps."

"Well then, smartass," Miller shot back. "Why don't you step up and tell Kane you want in on QB?"

"I'm a wide receiver," Murphy grabbed another beer out of the cooler. "Always was. Always will be. Why don't you do it, Miller?"

"I would but I'm the only long snapper…"

"Sounds like an excuse to me…."

"Will you both shut the hell up," Dax growled. "We have no offense so we're basically fucked this season."

"We can't go into this thinking that way," Miller told his friends. "Hard as it may be we have to stay positive."

"The only thing I'm positive of is Myles sucks," Murphy proclaimed. Dax nodded in agreement.

"He just needs some confidence," Miller explained.

"Why are you all about Myles tonight?" Murphy tossed another stone at Miller. "Did he blow you after practice or something?"

"Go fuck yourself, Murphy." Miller threw a rock back.

"Don't need to," he grinned in reply. "Monroe's coming by later."

…

"Hi Clarke, it's me. I know you're mad but I was hoping we could talk. I miss you."

Wells hung up his phone and gazed down at the display, not that she was going to call or text. But he wanted her to. Wished she would. But things got messy between them.

Now he wasn't sure what was going on.

Well's father poked his head into his son's room. "I just got off the phone with Dr. Griffin."

"Let me guess," Wells frowned. "Clarke still hates me."

"I don't know about that."

"She doesn't hate me?"

"Son," the tall man took a seat on the chair next to his son's bed. "She went through a lot. They all did."

"Because of me," Wells sighed. "It's my fault. All of it."

"You did the right thing and that's what matters."

"She still won't talk to me."

"Give her time."

"It's been three months."

"Be patient."

Wells nodded.

His father leaned back in the chair and continued. "Thought you might like to know that Clarke tried out for the cheerleading team at her new school."

"Figured she would," Wells smiled.

"She didn't make it."

"What?" Wells gasped. "Why not?"

"She wouldn't say but Abby seems to think she had a problem with the coach."

"What kind of problem?"

"You'll have to ask her that," his father smiled.

"I would but she's kinda ignoring my calls right now," Wells reminded him.

"Maybe she'll change her mind this weekend."

"What's this weekend?"

"We're going out there for a little housewarming party."

…

"Dude, just hit send."

"I can't."

"Then I will."

"NOOOOO!" Jasper hugged his phone tightly to his chest and curled into a ball. Monty poked his sides trying to get to his friend's phone.

"Come on, it's been two hours. Send the damn text already."

"What if she doesn't reply?"

"She can't reply if you DON'T SEND IT!"

Jasper looked down at his pending message to Octavia.

"Monty NO!"

The phone made swoosh sound as the text was sent.

Jasper stared at his friend, "I cannot believe you just did that."

…

**Everybody do the Pirate Rumble.**

**Everybody do the Pirate Rumble.**

**Pirate….**

**Rumble….**

Octavia was still cheering when she felt her phone vibrate. Reaching into her back pocket she looked at the incoming message:

_Ahoy there fellow Pirate. Wondering if you'd be available for some pre-season practice?  
>Captain Jasper Jordan.<em>

"Oh my God!" she burst out laughing. "Look at this!" She immediately showed the message to Harper and Monroe.

"What was he thinking?" Monroe asked.

"That's just sad," Harper shook her head sympathetically.

"Sad?" Octavia laughed. "I think it's hilarious. Should I text him to come over now?"

"Oh, let me do it," Monroe snatched the phone from her friend's hand.

"Give it back," Octavia tried to take it from Monroe but Harper hit her with a pillow. Octavia grabbed her loyal teddy bear and started to beat Harper over the head. The two went back forth for a few rounds before Harper gave up. Octavia held her stuffed bear above her head in victory.

In the corner of the room Monroe was giggling. "And send."

"Monroe?" Harper looked at her friend. "What did you just do?"

Monroe dangled the phone between her index finger and thumb. "Just sent a reply to Captain Jasper…."

…

"It's called a walking taco," Finn explained as he scooped the ingredients into a small bag of Doritos. He held the bag closed and then began shaking it up and down to mix everything up.

"It's called diarrhea," Raven laughed watching him open the bag and stab the contents with a fork. "I can't believe you're eating leftovers after what happened last night."

"I'll be fine. Stop worrying." A heaping forkful made its way to his mouth.

"Do not call me at 2am from the toilet again," Raven warned.

"I won't."

"Good." Raven picked at her own dinner. "Hey, when do you go back to school?"

"Why?" he asked wiping his mouth with his hand. "Afraid you'll go through Finn Collins withdrawal?"

Raven grinned, "You're not as addicting as you think."

"I disagree with that statement."

"You're very argumentative tonight you know that?"

"Did you just accuse _me_ of being argumentative?" Finn's eyebrow arched as he looked at the girl in his kitchen. "You inhale too much Brake-Kleen or something?"

"Stop eating this. It's going to make you sick." Raven took the bag away from him.

Finn let her have the rest of his walking taco because as much as he hated to admit it, his stomach was starting to hurt a little."So why'd you ask about school? Thinking about coming back?"

"Nope," Raven stuck her fork into the bag in front of her. "I do not miss that place at all."

But from the way she was acting, Finn wasn't so sure she was telling the truth.

…

"Goodnight, Charlotte."

"Goodnight, Mom."

Charlotte lay in her new bed and listened to the fading footsteps as her mother went back downstairs. She watched the clock waiting exactly two minutes before getting out of bed and sneaking into her sister's bedroom.

Clarke was lying in bed wide awake.

"What do you want, Charlotte?"

Charlotte didn't answer instead she sat on the edge of the bed, placing her pillow and blanket down. Curling up next to her sister she offered a soft, "I'm sorry I jinxed you."

"You didn't jinx me."

"But I said…,"

"I know what you said and you didn't jinx me."

"I'm sorry anyway."

Clarke sighed as she felt the weight of her little sister's head against her shoulder.

"Can we do the thing?"

"Aren't you a little old for that?"

"Please."

"Okay," Clarke lifted her hand against Charlotte's face, tracing her finger over her warm skin starting at her forehead and sliding down her nose. "North. South. East. West. My little sister is the best."

Charlotte smiled and placed her hand against Clarke's forehead. "North. South. East. West. My _big_ sister is the best."

"Yeah," Clarke smiled. "I am the best. Now go to sleep."

"I love you, Clarke."

"Love you back, Charlotte."

…

Bellamy was trying hard not to lose his temper with Myles. He and Connor were doing the kid a _huge_ favor by helping him out in the first place. The least the freshman could do was show some damn effort.

"Again," he stated holding back his frustration. Close to an hour of snaps and the quarterback was still managing to fumble at least half of them. Hell, Octavia was a better than this idiot.

Speaking of his sister, there was screaming and laughter coming from her room which apparently distracted Myles as this last attempt was fumbled yet again.

"Pay attention next time," Bellamy growled as he picked up the ball from the ground. "Again." He tossed the ball to Connor who got into position again waiting for Myles.

"Ichigo. Orihime. Hut. Hut!" Myles called. Conner thrust the football between his legs and into the hands of the quarterback.

Myles fumbled. Again. Then he quickly dropped on the ball.

"Keep your hands together!" Bellamy shouted. "You have to keep your hands together! Here," he ripped the ball away from Myles and shoved it at Connor's midsection. "Get down," he yelled at the center.

With his hands in place Bellamy barked, "Phoenix. Walden. ARRRGGGGH!" He took the ball from Connor in a clean snap. "See?" he showed his hand position to Myles. "TOGETHER!"

Myles nodded.

Connor took the ball back and they tried it again.

"Ichigo. Orihime. Hut. Hut!"

The ball didn't hit the ground during the snap but then Myles nearly dropped it as he stepped back to fake a handoff. "That was better, right?"

Bellamy hung his head. He was caught between wanting to scream and wanting to give up completely. "I don't know where to go from here," he said to Connor. "Any suggestions?"

"You need to go ole skool on his ass," Connor replied.

…

"Okay, so I'm not really sure what is going on your backyard," Harper announced as she re-entered Octavia's room.

"What are you talking about?" Octavia looked at her friend.

"Take a look." Harper led Octavia and Monroe to the window. The three girls looked out onto the scene below. And no, Octavia had no idea why Bellamy was taping Myles' wrists together with a roll of orange hockey tape.

"What the hell are they doing?" she muttered.

"I think it's pretty obvious," Monroe shrugged as the other girls looked over at her. "They're playing Fifty Shades of Gray."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Thank you so much for all the reviews and wonderful plot suggestions - keep them coming as I will do my best to add them to the story! <strong>_

_**How many of you like the Wells/Clarke friendship? Would you like to see them reconcile or go their separate ways? **_

_**- Gemma**_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Jasper stopped at corner and turned to Monty. "I don't think I can do this."

Monty shook his head and sighed. From the moment Jasper saw Octavia at their freshman orientation he'd been infatuated. It took two years for him to get the nerve to even go near her. Then last year he actually _spoke_ to her – twice in the same week. Yesterday he'd texted her – okay, technically he didn't – Monty had hit send but Jasper did come up with that message on his own. And now today, they were officially invited over to her house.

"Yes, you can," Monty replied. "Just read the message again."

Jasper took out his phone and looked at the display. There was his original message plus Octavia's reply:

_UR2cute Can U come by 2morrow?_

He'd written back:

_YES_

Then she replied:

_Cool. Bring Monty. Can't wait to cheer with you guys! Hows 2ish sound?_

He'd written back:

_Good 4 us. CU then._

She'd written:

_CU_

"Feel better now?" Monty asked as he watched the stupid smile grow on Jasper's face.

"Yeah," Jasper nodded. "Let's do this." He started walking again, purposefully.

Monty joined him, still not entirely sure how this cheerleading thing was going to work out. There were two weeks of practice before school started which made it impossible to sleep in these final weeks of summer – and what was the point of summer vacation if you were waking up at 7am? He hadn't said anything to Jasper yet but Monty was fairly certain he wasn't going to follow through with anything cheer-related.

"Hi guys!"

Three girls sat on the front steps of the Blake residence. They were in tight fitting cami tank tops with short Soffee cheer shorts. They wore identical white sneakers and had identical ponytails. Octavia even had a giant bow in her hair.

"Thanks for helping us out," Monty spoke first knowing that Jasper was still taking in the sight of his crush. "We have no idea what we're doing."

"Then why did you try out?" Monroe asked.

"Uh," Monty looked at Jasper who was looking back at him.

"Because, uh," Jasper tried to think of something to say but most of the time when he was around Octavia he couldn't think. Now was one of those times.

"School Spirit," Monty clapped his hands together. "Go Pirates!"

"Love IT!" Harper clapped her hands together too.

"Do you guys want to get started?" Octavia asked.

"Sure."

She led everyone around the side of the house into the yard.

"A trampoline! Awesome," Jasper slapped Monty's shoulder.

"We'll show you our Hello cheer first," Octavia said as she turned around to face the boys.

"What's a Hello cheer?" Monty asked.

"They don't even know what a Hello cheer is," Monroe mumbled to herself. She wasn't in the best of moods today. Last night she was supposed to hang out with her boyfriend, Murphy but he got drunk with his friends and was being a jerk. They hate-texted and Monroe was pretty sure he broke up with her. Again.

"Oh, a Hello cheer is when we're the home team and we go over to the visitors side to, you know, say Hello and welcome them to our field," Harper explained.

"And you do that in a cheer?" Jasper asked.

"Yeah, we're – cheerleaders. That's what we do," Monroe rolled her eyes.

"What's your problem?" Harper gave her friend a look.

"I just think it's stupid that they tried out for a sport they know nothing about," Monroe offered carelessly. That's when Octavia pulled her aside and hissed, "You're being a bitch," in her ear.

"Whatever," Monroe blew her off as she checked her phone to see if Murphy had texted.

He hadn't.

"Okay," Jasper folded his arms over his chest. "Let's see the _Hello_ cheer."

"So, uh, it has a ripple. I'm first group. Harper, can you go second and Monroe is third…," Octavia looked over her shoulder to where Monroe was busy with her phone. "Monroe did you hear me?"

"Third group. Got it." Monroe put her phone down on the picnic table and stood next to Harper.

The girls lined up a straight line with their feet together and arms at their sides. "Hit it!" Octavia called out with a glowing smile.

**We are the Pirates of B H S  
>Hello to you.<br>We wish you the best.  
>Our offense and defense<br>Are here to fight  
>Welcome to Bellarke<br>Good luck tonight!**

"Wow," Jasper clapped his hands. "That was AWESOME!"

"That looks really hard," Monty frowned. "Do we have to do that jump thing?"

"It's called a toe touch," Monroe snorted.

"I can barely touch my shins let alone my toes," Monty tried to laugh.

"Let's line up," Octavia pointed to a spot in the grass. "Jasper, you're here and Monty," she pointed to another spot. "You're here. So Jasper that makes you second group with Harper. Monty, you're third group with Monroe."

Octavia stood in the front with her feet together and arms by her side. "So the first words are, "We are the Pirates of B H S." She looked back over her shoulder. "Got that."

Jasper and Monty nodded.

"Everybody say it with me." Octavia clasped her hands together. "Hit it."

Together everyone spoke the words. **We are the Pirates of B H S**

"Oh my gosh," Harper laughed. "That sounds so weird with guy voices!"

"Are you kidding me?" Octavia looked at the guys. "It sounds awesome. Let's try the next part."

Jasper was feeling pretty confident. It turned out that learning the words wasn't that difficult. Even having to enunciate wasn't too bad. The moves that went along with the words – now those were a nightmare.

"High V," Harper held her arms up over her head. "Like this. Just like this."

"Ow," Jasper complained as Harper twisted his wrists. "That hurts you know."

"You'll get used to it."

"You have to keep your elbows together when you clap," Octavia told Monty. "Like this."

"I cannot physically do that," Monty stuck his arms out in front of his body and tried to touch his elbows together. "See?"

After the better part of an hour, everyone was frustrated. Octavia put her hands on her hips. She knew that most people thought cheerleading was a joke and that it really didn't matter how loud you yelled or if you hit your motions. But the truth was – it _did_ matter. A lot.

"Trampoline break!" she randomly announced. "No shoes!" she scolded Jasper who was eagerly trying to climb through the safety net to beat Monty onto the trampoline.

"HA!" Monty chided as he raced by Jasper, having already taken off his sneakers. Through the net he went and onto the black spongy surface. "Woooooo!" he exclaimed as he bounced up and down. His silky black hair floated along with each jump. "Hey Jasper! Can you do this?" he called to his friend as he sprung into the air flipping over backward and landing – mostly on his feet but touching down with a hand.

"DO THAT AGAIN!" Octavia grabbed Harper. "You gotta see this."

Monty jumped again flipping backward and nailing the landing. See the girls watching him, he threw his arms up in his best high V and yelled out "Go Pirates!"

Everyone cheered.

…

"Clarke Griffin," the receptionist called out the name softly.

Hearing her name, Clarke got up from her seat and made her way across the waiting room to the door. In her mind she called it the Entrance to Hell. It was the price she had to pay because Wells felt obligated to "save her from herself." It was him who should be here. Not her.

She was not the one with the problem.

"Hello Clarke," Dante Wallace, her therapist greeted her warmly. He always did. Asshole. She hated him. Hated every single thing about this place. This place was truly Dante's Inferno.

"Did you bring your food journal?"

Clarke tossed the packet carelessly on the small table in his office. Then she went to the easel and picked up a paintbrush. She really didn't feel like "drawing her own forecast" today. What an asinine concept. A stupid play on the name of the facility: Mt. Weather.

Dipping the brush in black paint she tapped the tip against the virgin paper then feverishly rubbed it back and forth creating a big blob of paint. Finished, she sat down in the oversize chair and waited.

"Is there anything you'd like to discuss today?"

"No."

There was never anything she wanted to tell him except that she didn't belong here. The only reason she even came was because when she didn't her mother would cry and start to blame herself. Then her father would get upset and then her sister would get upset.

The three of them were too much to handle.

So that's the reason she was here drinking the Kool Aid because her best friend got her whole family worked up over something that wasn't even an issue – until he staged a damn intervention and made it one.

"I see several blanks the last few days," Dante casually mentioned as he paged through the journal. "Would you like to take a minute to finish this?"

"It is finished."

"So you've been skipping meals again."

"I wasn't hungry."

"Clarke…,"

She knew he was about to spew some psychological mumbo jumbo and she really could not take any more. "I WASN'T HUNGRY!" she shouted at him. "Why can't you understand that there are days when I'm just NOT hungry!"

…

"You're talking about Raven Reyes." Principal Diana Sydney tapped her fingers on her desk as she looked at the man sitting across from her. "I have her file right here," she removed a folder from the filing cabinet behind her desk. "She never officially withdrew from school she just stopped coming. She would have graduated last year but she missed too many days. We enrolled her in summer school but she never bothered to show up so we can't issue her a diploma."

A file was placed in front of Coach Kane.

"If I were you, I would even bother," the principal continued. "She's got a situation at home. No father. Alcoholic mother who has been in and out of rehab. I imagine she probably has some addiction issues of her own."

Coach Kane browsed though the file. "If she were to come back to school she would be a senior."

"Yes, but trust me," the woman shook her head. "She's not coming back."

"Hypothetically," he locked eyes with Principal Sydney. "If she did, would she be eligible to play varsity sports?"

"Well," the principal folded her hands. "Technically yes. However, she does have to keep up her GPA to remain eligible. If her past attendance record is any indication, that's not going to happen."

_But her standardized test scores are in the top 95 percent_, Kane thought to himself as he stared at the sheets in her file. "May I hold onto this for a little while?"

"Marcus, in the history of the Bellarke's football program there has _never_ been a female player."

"I understand that," Coach Kane replied. "I'm just looking at my options."

* * *

><p><em><strong>What did you think about Monty throwing a back tuck out of nowhere? Do you think he and Jasper will be able to overcome the social stigma of the male cheerleader label? Will Octavia and the rest of the team stand up for them?<strong>_

_**I know the second scene of the story touched on a very serious topic but the main goal of the story is to keep it light hearted and fun.**_

_**Do you think Kane will be able to convince Principal Sydney to let Raven on the team - that is - if Raven decides to go for it?**_

_**A huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed and to everyone who is following this story. -Gemma**_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Charlotte, honey, can you bring the etched glass serving dish over here?" Abby Griffin asked as she removed a tray full of appetizers from the baking sheet. The family was preparing a large but informal Housewarming party. They'd invited several of their friends and the entire block. She and her husband Jake had both grown up here. They moved away to attend college and it worked out that they'd both gotten jobs near their respective alma maters.

Jake's mother passed away and they'd gone through several buyers for her home, though each deal seemed to fall apart at the last minute. When Clarke was discharged from Mt. Weather her therapist, Mr. Wallace had suggested a fresh start for her, Jake's childhood home was still vacant. So they put their home on the market. It sold in three days.

For them this wasn't just a Housewarming. It was a Homecoming.

"Hellooooo," a voice called from the doorway.

"Mrs. Murphy!" Abby wiped her hands in her apron and reached out to hug the elderly woman. "And what is this?"

"Best coleslaw in the county," the elderly woman replied.

Abby took the large bowl from a teenage boy as Mrs. Murphy introduced him as her grandson, John. More guests began to arrive and Abby rushed around trying to be a hostess and get everything ready, without letting on how angry she was at her daughters for not helping.

…

Upstairs in her bedroom with ear buds in her ears Clarke was listening to music and sketching in a spiral notebook. Her drawings were mostly doodles, connecting geometric shapes with bolded outlines and shaded centers. There was no inspiration to draw anything more. In her mind she still heard the words of her doctor. "Clarke, you've lost another half pound. If you continue to lose weight you'll have to be admitted again."

Being a resident patient at Mt. Weather was like being in prison. She wasn't allowed to do anything except sleep, (pretend to) eat and attend group therapy. There was no TV, no phone and no internet. She wasn't even allowed to read. For "fun" the residents were allowed to play board games and do puzzles. A person can only play Monopoly so many times.

School was starting in two weeks and – as much as she dreaded the first day of a brand new school where she knew not a soul – there was no way she was going to miss it either. Her focus was to try to put some effort into maintaining her current weight. Preoccupied with how to do that she didn't even hear him come up the steps or open the bedroom door. All she knew was that when she glanced up she caught sight of him in the mirror.

Ripping the ear bud from her left ear she looked at him coldly. "What are you doing here?"

"I was invited," Wells answered shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

"Not by me," Clarke gave him one final look before replacing the ear bud and going back to her notebook. She felt him approach and sit on the bed beside her.

Gently sliding an ear bud out from her ear and holding it up to his he asked a timid, "What are you listening to?"

"Volcano Choir."

He sat beside her quietly for a couple songs, watching as she drew overlapping circles of varying diameters, shading them each in different directions. Wells took a deep breath and offered a sincere, "I'm sorry."

"No you're not."

"Do you think I _wanted_ this to happen? I had no idea you'd have to go to Mt. Weather or move so far way."

"Then you should have kept your mouth shut," Clarke snapped at him.

"You needed help."

"I did not NEED anything," Clarke pulled her ear bud away from him. He looked back her with a gloomy expression. "I was fine and then YOU had to make a big fucking deal out of nothing."

"You were vomiting blood, Clarke."

"Once. It happened once."

Wells looked at her in disbelief. "It shouldn't have happened at all. It's not healthy…,"

Clarke didn't want to hear anymore. "GET OUT," she tried to push him off her bed. But she wasn't exactly Supergirl and Wells was a muscular guy and he didn't budge. "I said GET OUT," she pushed against him again.

"I'm not going anywhere," Wells wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. "You are my best friend and I will _always_ be there for you."

…

"Come on," Jasper grinned at Monty. "Say it. Say I was right."

"Fine," Monty scowled. "You were right." He didn't want to admit to himself or Jasper or anyone for that matter the fact that a very small part of him – like maybe twenty cells – was enjoying this whole cheerleading thing. Okay, maybe not the cheerleading part but the hanging out with the girls on the squad part. Who would have ever thought that he, Monty Green, would be able to walk up and freely talk to girls like Harper and Monroe and Octavia?

Today they were back at Octavia's house. Harper and Monroe were there along with fellow newbies, Glass and Mel who were incoming freshmen. However, the bigger difference was that Bellamy Blake was there too, along with Miller and some guy named Myles. They were in a corner of the yard throwing a football around.

"Look who's home?" Monty whispered to Jasper.

"Yeah," Jasper groaned. "Figured we'd run into him sooner or later."

"Hello ladies!" Miller called out. Bellamy and Myles laughed.

Monty and Jasper didn't. They just tried to pretend that it didn't bother them. They sat down on the steps and watched as the Octavia went through a cheer she'd been teaching to the freshmen.

**Bellarke  
>Let's take control.<br>Come on Pirates  
>Let's go!<strong>

Jasper watched her with adoration. She was definitely the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. Today her hair was loose hanging down over her back. She had jean shorts on with a racer back tank top showing off her tanned skin.

Monty sipped at his water bottle keeping one eye on the guys at the other end of the yard. Doing this stuff when it was just him and Jasper and the girls wasn't a big deal. Now that there were actual people watching him (people who would very likely make fun of them) he felt incredibly self-conscious.

"Come on guys," Octavia waved them into line. "Let's see how it sounds with all of us."

"You remember it right?" Harper asked.

Monty nodded.

Harper stood in front and got ready to start the cheer. "Bellarke!" she said hitting a motion that Jasper learned was called "K" like the letter. "Let's take control," she clasped her hands and then made a scooping motion that ended in a "T".

Monty and Jasper joined in with a reluctant, "Come on Pirates," doing two more of those clap/clasp things. Monty had figured out that in order to touch his elbows together he had to keep them up at chest level. Then a punch with their right hand overhead as they dully stated, "Let's go."

"Bellarke!" the girls continued the cheer except for Octavia who looked over at Jasper, making an exaggerated frown with her lower lip almost touching her chin. He half-smiled back but his eyes were on Bellamy, Miller and Myles who had stopped to watch (and laugh) at them.

…

Raven held the cylinder from the dirt bike in her hand.

"Can you fix it?" Finn asked hopefully. "If you do I'll be your best friend," he smiled wide.

"You already are my best friend," she punched his shoulder lightly.

Raven set the part down wiped a greasy hand down the leg of her coveralls. "Piston's broken," she dropped a piece of metal onto the work bench. "And the ring chewed the upper exhaust port."

Finn frowned as he watched her wipe off her hands with a rag.

"It's gonna have to be welded before I can recoat it but, yeah, I should be able fix it."

"I love you." Finn crushed her in a big bear hug.

Before Raven could reply, there was a loud, "Ahem," from the doorway. She turned to see Finn's mom standing there and felt the flush on her face. Not that they were doing anything wrong – hell, they'd certainly been caught doing worse (hence the main reason Finn's bedroom no longer had a door) but even before that incident Raven always had the feeling that Mrs. Collins didn't like her very much. Of course the woman was much too polite to actually say anything to that effect but sometimes, Raven knew that deep down Mrs. Collins thought Finn could find someone better.

"Raven," Mrs. Collins popped her head inside the garage as the pair broke apart quickly. "Coach Kane from the high school is here to see you."

Raven and Finn both stiffened up as the man with the SUV from the "football" incident the other day stepped inside.

"Hello again," he nodded at them.

"Finn," Mrs. Collins dropped a subtle hint that he should give them some privacy. Finn looked back at Raven, who appeared to be composed. "We'll be inside if you need us," Mrs. Collins told them.

"Thank you," Coach Kane said as he approached Raven with an outstretched hand. "I didn't get a chance to introduce myself the other day. I'm Marcus Kane, head coach of the high school football team."

Raven wiped her hand on her pants again before placing her hand in his. "Raven," she replied flatly eyeing him warily. "What's that?" she asked noticing the thick file under his arm.

"This is your permanent file," he held it out to her.

"You came out here to give me my permanent file?" That seemed a little ridiculous to Raven.

"No," Kane admitted. "I wanted to speak with you about the opportunity to play on my team."

"Yeah. That's not gonna happen," Raven turned around and went back to repairing the dirt bike.

"You have the potential to be a good quarterback," Kane continued.

Raven dug out the O-ring with her fingernails. "I'm not interested."

"Well, if you change your mind, we have practice every day next week at the high school field," he placed a sheet of paper on the bench.

"I won't," she looked at the paper then back at him.

Kane ignored her comment. "I have a whole team of guys who don't think a girl can throw better than they can. I'd like to prove them wrong." With that he walked back into the house.

Raven's jaw set. She could throw just as good as any guy. Looking down at the paper she noted the times for practice. _Maybe_ she would _think_ about going.

…

_Check this out_

Bellamy, Miller and Myles all looked at the group text from Murphy. It was a picture of a blonde girl bending over cleaning something off the floor. All you could really see was the long blonde hair and a sliver of pale skin between the waist of her shorts and the bottom of her shirt.

_My new neighbor_ Murphy had written.

"Damn….," Miller eyed the photo. "That is one nice boo-tay."

"Oh yeah," Myles agreed fist-bumping his teammate.

Miller texted back _Does she have a face?_

Murphy replied back a second later_ Does it matter?_

Then Dax's reply came in_ Face down ass up that's the way we like to fuck_

Atom sent_ Who cares about her face does she have big boobs_

Murphy respondedwith another photo of the girl. Well, it was a picture of a cake that she was holding and from the angle he'd taken the picture you still couldn't see her face but her cleavage was definitely visible.

Atom texted back _NICE_

Then Bellamy added _NICE place to put my dick_

* * *

><p><em><strong>To address some of the reviews; This is a full cast story so each character will be involved in the overall plot. Some characters will be more involved than others but I do plan to incorporate the secondary characters as much as I can.<strong>_

_**The cheerleading and football elements are a big part of the story. I'll try to balance both teams equally throughout the chapters.**_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Jasper's alarm went off for the first time since school ended back in June. He reached over and out of habit aimed for the snooze button. Then he remembered that today was the first day of cheerleading practice. He sat up excitedly and jumped out of bed, not because he was looking forward to being tortured by Coach Anya but because he had convinced Monty that it would be a great idea to have a little team bonding party at Monty's house this Friday.

Monty had an impressive in ground pool in his yard and so the party would be a luau-themed swimming event. Jasper was especially looking forward to seeing Octavia in her bikini.

Both boys wondered why they hadn't brain-stormed this whole cheerleading thing before.

On top of that, it just so happened that Jasper's mom was staying at his aunt's house this week as his aunt was recovering from surgery. Armed with the keys to Mrs. Jordan's mini-van – Jasper had graciously offered to chauffer their new little clique to practice. He'd spent the entire day yesterday cleaning the van – not that someone like Octavia would be impressed by a mini-van – but she still deserved to ride in a vehicle that did not smell like fast food.

Dressed in the required practice clothes; black shorts, Bellarke Pirate tee shirt and sneakers, Jasper made sure his hair and teeth were brushed before leaving the house. He had two full bottles of Gatorade and a clean shirt (Harper gave him a heads up on the sweat factor) packed in a gym bag.

With a smile on his face he drove straight to the Blake residence. Octavia was waiting out front for him. Her shorts were short and her tank top was quite snug across her chest. His grin widened.

"Hey there!" she waved as she bounced toward the van.

"Hey yourself," Jasper replied. After saturating himself in Octavia Blake these last few days, speaking to her was becoming a little easier.

"I have a favor to ask," she smiled and leaned into the driver's side window. "Can you give Bellamy a ride too? Murphy was supposed to pick him up and didn't show and he's not answering texts."

The last thing Jasper wanted to do was have Bellamy in his car but when Octavia looked at him with her big brown eyes and a "Please…." He couldn't say no.

By the time he got to Monty's house the seating assignments that they'd planned were messed up. Instead of Octavia riding shotgun, Bellamy was in front – wearing cleats that made a waste treatment plant smell good. Instead of Monty riding in his chosen seat next to Harper (yes, he'd developed a little crush – although he hadn't actually admitted it yet), he was in the back by himself because Octavia had taken that seat.

Monroe was the last stop and so she climbed in beside Monty. As they were pulling into the school parking lot – _that_ song came on the radio. You know the one. Every summer there's a top 40 hit with a catchy hook that _everyone_ can't help singing.

"Bell, turn it up!" Octavia called to her brother. He did as she asked then grabbed his equipment and dashed off to practice. Jasper watched in the rear view mirror as the girls sang and danced in the mini-van. He saw Monty wink at him.

Yeah this was going to be a good day.

…

Raven woke up to a text from Finn.

_Working with my dad today. Call you later._

On those summer days when Finn helped out his dad Raven usually spent her time at the library. The main reason being (unlike her house) the building was air-conditioned. It was easy enough to grab a book, sit in one of the comfy reading chairs and waste half a day.

She showered, dressed and ate the last few crumbs of cereal with no milk. Still pulling her hair back as she stepped out into the hot August morning she glanced over at Finn's house, waving to them as the Collins Landscaping truck slowly rolled out of the driveway. It pulled a trailer of equipment most of which Raven had personally repaired at one time or another.

It was still early and the library didn't open for two more hours. Raven walked slowly and took the long way there, passing through the center of town and then up and around the train tracks. She even walked by the high school, rolling her eyes as a mini-van, blasting music sped into the parking lot. From her point of view she could see Bellamy Blake in the passenger seat.

Not that she was actually considering Coach Kane's ludicrous offer to join the football team but if she had been, the thought of seeing the look on their faces if she were to throw a couple Hail Mary's might actually be worth a few minutes of her time.

She paused at the crosswalk as the van continued across the blacktop toward the field.

Checking the time on her phone, there was still an hour before the library opened.

…

Clarke was awake and dressed before anyone else in the house. Strapping her iPod to her arm she stepped out the front door for a morning run. Just because she didn't make the team at this stupid high school didn't mean her cheer career was finished. There was college – and so she had to keep up her skills for those tryouts.

She had an entire workout planned, or so she thought. Clarke had barely left her front yard when she ran into her neighbor – what was his name again? Oh yeah, John Murphy.

"Goood Morning," he practically sang as she jogged by giving him a polite wave.

Next thing she knew he was jogging next to her – trying to engage her in conversation. She answered a few questions briefly then sped up hoping he'd get take hint.

He didn't.

Matching her stride he continued talking about the first day of school and "if you need anyone to show you around…"

After several blocks, Clarke's chest was burning since she'd gone a little above her normal pace. Slowing down she looked at the boy next to her who grinned as he stayed in stride. "Didn't think I could keep up, did ya?"

"No," Clarke admitted slowing to a very slow jog, since her heart felt like it was about to explode out of her chest.

"You look like you're about to die," Murphy joked.

"I'm fine," Clarke panted.

"Let's head back to my house," Murphy had turned around backward and was now jogging facing her. "I'll grab my stuff and give you a ride up to the field. You can watch me practice."

Clarke was aware that she was attractive and this was certainly not the first time a guy had used such lame ass game to flirt with her. And normally she wouldn't have ever entertained such an attempt but she saw on the website that the cheerleaders practiced up at the field too.

Admittedly, Clarke was curious about the team that cut her.

"Or you could give me a ride to the field and I could run laps."

…

Monroe was half-standing in the back seat of the van singing the lyrics at the top of her lungs and dancing as best she could in the cramped seat. Harper and Octavia sat in front of her and they were singing along too. Even Jasper and Monty did a sort of lip sync from their respective seats.

When the song ended everyone climbed out of the van, water bottles in hand and drawstring practice bags looped over their shoulders. Together the pack of them made their way over to the track. They were a good fifteen minutes early but Coach Anya was already there with her binder and clipboard but she wasn't alone.

"Coach Maya!" Monroe squealed as she skipped over to give her favorite coach a hug. Maya was in charge of the middle school's cheerleading program and she frequently helped out with the varsity team.

Maya was the reason that Monroe loved cheerleading. Monroe never wanted to be a cheerleader but somehow Octavia and Harper talked her into trying out for the middle school squad with them. They'd both cheered Pop Warner because their brothers played football and so to them it wasn't a big deal. But it was the first time Monroe had ever cheered or even tried out for anything. She was so worried about not making the team that she kept messing up all the routines. After humiliating herself she ran into the bathroom crying her eyes out. Nothing Harper or Octavia could say would get her out of the stall. Then Maya had come in and asked her friends to go back to the gym so she could talk to Monroe alone. Maya explained that it was her first year coaching and she was nervous too.

It was that conversation that shaped Monroe's entire cheer-career.

"I cannot believe you are seniors!" Maya's arms wrapped around Monroe, Harper and Octavia. "I remember when you were my little Braves!"

Monroe tightened her embrace on her old coach yes, she remembered being a Brave and cheering for her alma mater; Robert Morley Middle School. Back then things were fun and a lot less complicated. Now Coach Anya expected nothing but first place trophies. Fun wasn't on the agenda.

They introduced Jasper and Monty to Coach Maya, who was almost as thrilled as the girls to finally have a co-ed squad. As they stood talking, Monroe caught sight of Murphy's car pulling into the parking lot. Slipping away from the conversation she moved closer to the gate. She wanted to see if he would say anything to her. It had been days and he hadn't sent a single text.

Normally when they fought, it didn't take this long for him to send the inevitable, "Sorry," text. It was a vicious cycle that had been going on since their freshman year.

Monroe's hopes of an apology came crashing down as she noticed that Murphy was not alone. The blonde girl getting out of _her_ seat, er, the passenger seat sent a tremor of fury through Monroe.

She stared daggers at the two of them as they approached the field. It only took a moment to recognize the blonde as the girl from try-outs. The wrist-watch wearing loser who _didn't_ make the squad, was walking beside him _– laughing_.

The blonde girl went into the bleachers as Murphy jogged over to the end zone where the rest of the team was loitering. Then Murphy turned around and waved to the girl.

She waved back.

The water bottle crunched as Monroe gripped it tightly in her hand.

Unknowingly, Clarke Griffin had just made her first enemy.


End file.
